A recently created Library Strategic Plan at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) identified the need to integrate a culture of assessment throughout the organization in order to encourage more data informed decision-making processes. Our Assessment for Change Team (ACT) was formed and charged with spearheading this cultural evolution. This case study will discuss the development of a home-grown tool that assists with assessment brainstorming, and acts as a central repository for assessment products – the Data Lake.
Data Lake is an enterprise wide collaboration platform used for managing change and an assessment culture within the Library. First, a guided questionnaire assists with brainstorming and planning of assessment ideas while invoking dynamic reports and notification of resource managers at critical points within the assessment lifecycle. Next, the platform enables abstracting, indexing and storage of raw data and assessment tools while supporting dynamic visualizations, reports and dashboards. Finally, connections with service tickets and project plans are promoted as assessment plans morph into reports and data informed decisions to launch or change projects.
